Nearly everybody dreams of living near the beach. But if you’re one of those fortunate enough to live the dream, you know that a

seaside home takes some looking after. This is partly because seaside conditions tend to be

hard on traditional building materials. And when it comes to roofs on coastal

properties, upkeep is serious business.

There are roofing materials better equipped to handle the salt spray and high winds

associated with beachside communities.If your roof can’t deliver a level of performance

anywhere near that offered by the followingmaterials, a replacement may well be in order.

seaside home takes some looking after. this is partly because seaside

conditions tend to be hard ontraditional building materials.

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Part One:Stainless Steel

Discovered by English metallurgistHarry Brearly, stainless steel has long been a popular building material. It’s versa-tile, too, with applications ranging from theoperating room to the kitchen. What makes it a great roofing material for beach homes is its outstanding anti-corrosion property.

Stainless steel roofs are available inshingle and standing seam panel formats that create a formidable rust-proof barrier over your home. The reason why the alloy does not rust easily is because the chro-mium combines with oxygen in the atmos-phere to form a self-repairing passive film that prevents surface corrosion and keeps oxygen—the cause of rust—from getting in contact with the metal’s internal structures.

316L stainless steel, with an unpolished, mill finish

by William Rafti of the William Rafti Institute

It is true, however, that the salt in sea spray will cause damage over time. To minimize the risk of corrosion and damage, consider these factors when shopping for a stainless steel roof for your home:

→ Corrosion potential. Your coastal environ-ment will determine how big a risk of corrosion your stainless steel roof will be up against. Hu-midity levels, salt concentrations, and local wind pa-tterns will all factor in.

→ Stainless steel grade. Some types of stain-less steel are more durable under coastal condi-tions. The 300 Series is best suited for seaside homes.→ 316-grade stainless steel is the most highly recommended type. Its nickel and molybdenum content extends the passivity range of the oxide film.

→ Coating type. There are many natural and chemically engineered coatings that can rein-force a stainless steel roof’s rot and corrosion resistance. For maximum protection from mois-ture, choose a zinc-tin alloy coating.

Regular maintenance is also important to keep your stainless steel roof in good shape. Wash the surface regularly to remove contaminants and to prevent or delay pitting.

Part twO:Copper

People have been using copper as a roof-ing material as early as the 3rd century BC. The metal is known to not only perform well but also look great for more than a century, which explains its popularity in architecture. Like stainless steel, copper reacts with oxy-gen to form an oxide film that prevents furthercorrosion in the underlying metal, mak-ing it a great candidate for seaside roofs.

Aside from its corrosion resistance, copper is also known for its low reactivity to water. In a beach home, this means that the coastal spray will have little to no adverse effect on the aes-thetics of your roof. What will happen is that water runoff bonding with salt and other sub-stances will cause patination, the formation of a sheer green or blue layer of oxidized me-tal which only adds to the beauty of copper.

Copper can also hold up well against high winds. Because it is a metal roof, it uses

mechanical fasteners, which are far stronger than roof adhesives.

To make the most out of a copper roof, make sure you have the following things down pat before installation:

→ Decking. Your roof’s fastenings will affect how well it performs under harsh weather conditions. Batten systems require simple anchoring devices like thru-bolts. Roofs that need cleats secured to the roof deck, on the other hand, call for more special-ized tools and fastenings.

→ Surface preparation. Rosin building paper must be applied over your roof’s underlayment be-fore installation. It acts a final vapor barrier and pre-vents condensation that could lead to the corrosion of the copper from the inside out. It will also help your copper roof retain its shape and prevent movement during temperature extremes.

→ Patination rate. Much of the appeal of copper roofs stems from their attractive patination. If you want to speed up the process, you can choose a natural or chemical finish that will weather your roof faster. You may also purchase and install pre-patinated copper panels or shingles.

Copper roofs in commercial area of Membertou FN, Sydney, NS

Part three:Slate

Regardless of what kind of climate your home is exposed to year-round, a slate roof can serve you well. Slate is a metamorphic rock formed under intense heat and pressure, making it durable enough to withstand:

→ water. Slate has a water absorption index of 0.04%, which makes it virtually waterproof. No matter how close to the water your house is or how hard the rain gets, your roof is protected from damage.

→ Fire. This natural material is also known to be one of the most fireproof products on the roofing market. The National Roofing Contractors Asso-ciation and the National Slate Association gave slate an IBC Class A fire resistance rating.

This grey slate is hot selling in America and Canada.

Slate’s hardness is yet another plus—it doesn’t blister, rot, or crack easily. It is also a highly individual product, so you’ll need to know the following things when purchasing slate for your seaside roof:

→ Color. Slate is categorized into 2 color types: unfading and weathering. In the absence of pol-lutants, unfading slate retains its color for years—sometimes even up to a century. Weathering slate, on the other hand, changes color weeks or months after installation. Over time, however, its color stabilizes.

→ Grade. Slate grades are an indication of the life expectancy of the product. $1 is good for more than 75 years, $2 for 40 to 75 years, $3 for 20 to 40 years.Grades also offer information on:

a) Water absorption. While slate doesn’t ab-sorb much water, the amount that does seep through can be damaging. Negative effects in-clude the swelling and straining of slate substrates and product fatigue due to freeze-thaw cycles.

b) Acid resistance. During testing, slate is doused in an acidic solution and measured for soften-ing with a scratch test. Good slate is marked by a low softening depth after the acid bath.

c) Strength. Although slate is strong, it can get brittle. Slate strength (or modulus of rupture) is measured by the amount of force needed to fracture a piece of slate at its midpoint when it is supported at both ends.

Sources:

http://www.nickelinstitute.org/~/Media/Files/TechnicalLiterature/StainlessSteelsinABC_GuidelinesforCorrosion-Prevention_11024_.pdf

http://www.fortis-steel.ru/en/pub/download/1166544582568496.pdf

http://www.ssina.com/download_a_file/corrosionfinal.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_roof

http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/arch_dhb/arch-details/roofing/

http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/arch_dhb/additional/finishes/

http://www.slateinternational.com/slates